Keepers Patrol Shops to Save Animals

People power has forced Cadbury to take palm oil out of its chocolate - but campaigners say that's just a start. Environment reporter Eloise Gibson gets some advice from Auckland Zoo.

Zookeepers have taken to trawling the aisles of supermarkets, writing down ingredients in a bid to save the animals they look after. Auckland Zoo staff believe that, without intervention, creatures such as the Sumatran tiger will be gone in the wild within 12 years.

Their "orang-utan-friendly shopping list" is to help save the rainforest where tigers, orang-utans and small-clawed otters like those found at the zoo live.
After a customer outcry caused Cadbury to pull palm oil from its products this week, they hope public pressure will trim it from breakfast cereals, baby wipes, pet food, biscuits and other supermarket staples.

Figures from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) say palm oil is used in about one in 10 supermarket products - and may be being eyed up for biofuel. Peter Fraser, the zoo's conservation officer, said about four in 10 of the most popular supermarket brands contained palm oil.

Zookeepers have been visiting supermarkets after work with a clipboard, painstakingly recording ingredients for a "palm oil free" list. New products are added each week and there is a list of other names for palm oil to help shoppers. Mr Fraser said it was often listed as "vegetable oil" or a numbered additive such as "emulsifier 422", making it hard to see on ingredients labels. Palm oil has rocketed in popularity recently as a cheaper alternative to other vegetable oils. Vegetable oils are also being used more as they are healthier than some other fats.

Most palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia, where it is often grown on newly cleared land. Mr Fraser said there was already-cleared land available, but palm oil companies cleared rainforest because they could make extra profit from selling the wood. He said that just 1.5 per cent of global production was certified as sustainable, and even that was not yet independently certified.At least one major company owned a plantation certified as sustainable, while another it owned was clearing rainforest, he said.

Globally, palm oil is being considered as a new source of biofuel, although the UNEP says the deforestation it causes results in a carbon footprint higher than fossil fuels. The UNEP says it threatens part of one of the world's biggest carbon sinks - the tropical trees that together absorb nearly a fifth of the CO2 released by burning fossil fuels.

A Green Party bill passed into law this year means biofuel from palm oil grown from newly deforested land can not be sold in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, zoo staff stopped drinking Milo after learning it contained palm oil and are working to make the zoo cafe palm-oil free. The animals no longer eat palm kernels, although flamingo feed is proving difficult to replace: "There are just not that many flamingo feeds on the market," Mr Fraser said with a laugh. He said the list was not about making people feel guilty. "I want people to have this information and then they can decide if having these animals is important."

Auckland zookeepers are developing an "orang-utan-friendly shopping list". If you visit their web site, you should find this there.

FARMERS RAMPING UP PALM KERNEL IMPORTS

As zoo keepers work to cut palm oil from family shopping lists, farmers are importing its byproduct at a rate of more than a million tonnes a year.
Federated Farmers spokesman John Hartnell said palm kernel was coming into the country in large quantities as supplementary feed for cattle.

Despite environmental concerns about the clearing of rainforests, Mr Hartnell said the cheap price of palm kernel meant imports were "all go" at the moment. The environmental question did arise for farmers but"at the end of the day farmers need feed." "It's priced as attractive," he said.

Palm kernels are a less-than-ideal cattle feed. Mr Hartnell said they lacked protein and there were biosecurity concerns after some shipments were found to be contaminated with maize seed and insects. Federated Farmers was working to educate farmers about the biosecurity risks, but many farmers were getting a lot of their information from palm kernel suppliers, he said. Federated Farmers and MAF Biosecurity had been working together to address the risk of unwanted insects and seeds arriving, Mr Hartnell said.

Last year, Federated Farmers grains and seeds chairman Andrew Gillanders said palm kernel coming into the country for stock feed should be stopped because it was "created from the destruction of tropical rainforests".

Statistics New Zealand figures show most imports came from Malaysia or Papua New Guinea.

Sourced from the NZ Herald, Saturday 22nd of August 2009.
Written by Eloise Gibson, Environmental Reporter.

If you need help or advice, you are welcome to email our naturopathic team with your health question.

Disclaimer: The health information presented here has been written for the New Zealand health consumer. It is of a general nature and is only intended to provide a summary of the subjects covered. The information is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide medical advice to you. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, no responsibility or liability is accepted, and no person should act in reliance on any statement contained in the information provided. All health ailments should be treated by a qualified health professional.

Previous news item

Next news item

Comments

Disclaimer: The health information presented here has been written for the New Zealand health consumer. It is of a general nature and is only intended to provide a summary of the subjects covered. The information is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide medical advice to you. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, no responsibility or liability is accepted, and no person should act in reliance on any statement contained in the information provided. All health ailments should be treated by a qualified health professional. If you require additional information you can contact the healthy.co.nz naturopathic team on 0800 HEALTHY or email naturopath@healthy.co.nz